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Introduction

Bluesky International is the UK’s leading aerial survey company, producing and maintaining seamless digital aerial photography and height data on a national scale for both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Bluesky also undertakes bespoke surveys, including LiDAR, for a range of public and private sector clients. We have invested in the best data capture technology to ensure our products are accurate and high quality. Bluesky operates a range of aircraft and sensors including three Vexcel Ultracam Eagle Mark 3s, a Leica TerrainMapper and two Leica CityMapper2s, which allow the simultaneous collection of vertical and oblique imagery, as well as LiDAR data. These systems put Bluesky in the enviable position of being able to provide customers with unique and cost-effective geospatial solutions for digital planning.

Bluesky is also highly innovative and continually strives to develop new products and services by embracing new technology and methods. This has resulted in the development of some unique products such as the National Tree Map™ (NTM™), National Hedgerow Map™ (NHM™) and MetroVista™. We have over 20 years of experience and work closely with the private and public sectors. Our datasets underpin long term contracts with local and central governments and many major blue-chip companies, from a range of market sectors including financial services, utilities, telecoms, web portals, construction and environment. Our experienced team are committed to delivering the best customer service, from initial point of contact through to delivery of data and beyond.

Our products

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    GeoStream

    GeoStream is a data-as-a-service offering featuring unlimited access to Bluesky’s mapping data, via OGC API’s and an online viewer. The service includes instant access to Bluesky’s high resolution aerial imagery, the unique National Tree Map™, DSM, DTM and our MetroVista™ obliques and ultra hi-res imagery of urban areas.

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    Aerial Photography

    Bluesky’s catalogue of high and ultra-high resolution orthophotos is accurate, up-to-date and GIS/CAD ready. It is available off-the-shelf at 12.5cm resolution. We continually refresh our national coverage through our 2-year cyclic update programme, meaning our photography has unparalleled currency. Urban areas are available at 2.5 and 5cm resolution.

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    National Tree Map™ (NTM™)

    Bluesky’s National Tree Map™ (NTM™) is the most detailed dataset of its kind ever produced. With coverage across the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, NTM™ provides a unique, comprehensive database of location, height and canopy/crown extents for every single tree 3m and above in height.

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    National Hedgerow Map™ (NHM™)

    Bluesky’s National Hedgerow Map™ (NHM™) is the only hedgerow map available that provides volumetric data to accurately measure hedgerow carbon storage. With coverage across the whole of Great Britain, NHM™ provides a unique, comprehensive database of location, height, volume, extent, and centreline for all vegetation below 3 metres.

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    MetroVista™

    MetroVista™ is a suite of high precision geospatial datasets developed by Bluesky bringing the city to your desktop. Using advanced airborne sensor technology, vertical and oblique imagery, and LiDAR are acquired simultaneously facilitating the creation of co-registered products that can be used independently or combined to generate vibrant 3D cityscapes.

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    LiDAR Height Data

    Bluesky has an extensive portfolio of LiDAR data available as part of our catalogue, covering a wide area of Great Britain from 1 to 16ppm. If your area is not available off-the-shelf, our survey team are able to capture new LiDAR data up to 25ppm, offering a flexible solution.

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    Standard Height Data

    Bluesky’s detailed digital terrain and surface models (DTM and DSM) of Great Britain are available as grids of heighted points and contours, with 5m intervals for the DTM and 25cm intervals for the DSM. Our 2-year cyclic update programme ensures continually refreshed coverage, giving our data unparalleled currency.

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    3D Building Models

    Bluesky’s 3D building models provide a detailed visual representation of the built environment, allowing interaction, analysis and interrogation of urban landscapes on an unprecedented level. We produce our models at three distinct levels of detail (LOD): LOD1, LOD2, LOD3. Enhance the model with additional layers providing higher levels of detail.

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    Partner Products

    We are licensed re-sellers of other market-leading geospatial products from organisations including Cranfield, British Geological Survey, JBA, Geospatial Insight, Earthsense and Twinn. As a Premier Tier member of the Ordnance Survey’s (OS) Partner Programme, we can offer our OS expertise to support our customers and feedback into OS product development.

Case studies

England
Bluesky International Ltd
Geographical information systems (GIS) and mapping Environmental and sustainability services Planning and urban design services
UK-wide
Bluesky International Ltd
Geographical information systems (GIS) and mapping Environmental and sustainability services
England
Bluesky International Ltd
Visualisation, 3D modelling and animations Planning and urban design services Digital twins

MetroVista™: Nottingham City Council

Testimonials

“Now that Bluesky has captured, and continues to maintain, high-quality DSM data for the whole of the Republic of Ireland, we can rely on them for the instant provision of accurate and up-to-date datasets.”

Luis Dominguez
Senior GIS Analyst at Macro Works

“I have always been impressed with the professionalism we receive from Bluesky; from the initial quote all the way through to receiving the data and all special requests are accommodated, especially additional details.”

Paul Thornborough
BIM Manager at Buttress Architects

“Using the National Tree Map™ data we could see how much coverage we were missing when using just the national forest inventory. There is absolutely no way we could have got this level of detail without the NTM™.”

Dr Cat Scott
The University of Leeds
Find out more about pricing
Contact us for a quote based on your requirements, for both off-the-shelf and bespoke data capture.

Useful links

About Us
About Bluesky
News and Events
Recent news and upcoming events
Bluesky Mapshop
Visit the Mapshop to access our world of data